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The Williamsburgh Yellow Fever Case

About This Item

  • Title: The Williamsburgh Yellow Fever Case
  • Date: 31 July 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.00727
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 31 July 1857: 3. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Natalie B. Holmes Kaylen Michaelis Stephanie Blalock Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "The Williamsburgh Yellow Fever Case." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.00727.xml (TEI)
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THE WILLIAMSBURGH YELLOW FEVER CASE.—

The N. Y. Times says it has been ascertained that the only vessels on which L. W. Gross worked were the ship Benares, the schooner Passport, and the brig Abrams. Neither of these vessels brought contagious diseases into port, nor did they come from sickly places, nor were they Quarantined. The Benares came from Calcutta, the Passport from Charleston, and the Abrams from Rio Hatche, (S. A.) The Benares arrived on the 7th, the Passport on the 9th, and the brig Abrams on the 10th ult.

The above facts joined with, and conforming to the certificate of Dr. Wade, Mr. Gross' attending physician, would seem to leave no doubt that the man died of "Billious​ Remitten Fever," and not Yellow Fever, and it is presumed, therefore, that the case of Mr. Gross, as to his having died of Yellow Fever, will prove to be as much of a humbug as did the case of the sea sick cook, on board of the Brig Mary.

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